When did you go back to work?

The back to work survey of 1,388 women found that 33% returned to work between six months and a year and another 33% went back after a year, with just 1% going back a few days after the birth, usually because they were running their own business or self employed, and another 1% returning two weeks after the birth. Ten per cent went back between two weeks and four months.
The survey followed the news that French politician Rachida Dati had decided to go back to work just five days after having a Caesarean.

Flexible working

Some commented that they would have gone back to work sooner if there was more flexible work available to allow them a better work life balance. One commented: “If employers were more flexible with part-time jobs I would be working and caring for my children, but because they are not, I chose to stay at home as my children benefit the first 4 years of their lives bonding with me.”

Another said that she had wanted to share care of her child with her partner, but while her employer had been flexible, her partner’s had not so he had decided to quit his job. “He ended up leaving his job so that he could be at home with our son while I went to work,” she said. “He did this for a year and it was absolutely fantastic, but very hard financially. Six years down the track and I have been a full time mum since the birth of our second child 4 years ago and my husband is working full time. He really feels like he is missing out on time with the kids and I feel like my career opportunities are fading fast. Equality of the sexes is still a long way off…”

Part-time work

Others commented that they had a hard time returning to work after extended periods away or doing part time work. One said: “I worked full time before the birth of my daughter, now 5. I found the job pretty stressful so didn’t go back there. I had my son 11 months later and went started part time evening work when my daughter was 21 months old and my son was 10 months old.

Since then I have only been able to work part time during the evenings and it has put an enormous strain on my marriage. When the children started full time education in 2007 I applied for day jobs, but no one wants to know if you have children, you begin to feel like a second class citizen. Even when you know you can do the job and you have childcare arrangements in hand, they always come up with an excuse not to employ you. I think I’ll be working evenings for the next ten years at this rate. Twenty years of office experience is going to waste. Employers would rather give jobs to young people who can stagger into the office drunk the next morning than to a mature, experienced, organised woman.”

Another simply wrote: “Being a full-time mother IS a job. When will employers realise that if you can bring up children, run a house, cook meals, deal with the finances, entertain kids, educate them and have the laundry organised you can pretty much handle anything?????”

Looking for flexible work

Another survey carried out by workingmums in January found that 71% of people visiting the site were looking for new work intentionally as opposed to only 23% who had been made redundant.

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